I’m just a solo dev (@itskritixon X) hacking away on BrainBox (https://3pe1x.xyz/). It’s an open-source workspace that mixes Notion’s docs with Slack’s chat, but with a big focus on privacy and keeping you in control.

I’m sick of big platforms owning my data, and I bet some of you are too. What’s the deal? Tools like Notion and Slack are great but track everything and lock you in. Self-hosting? Good luck. That’s a pain for devs and teams who want freedom and security.

Why I’m doing this: I’ve been burned by proprietary tools limiting what I can build. BrainBox is my way of saying, “Screw that, let’s own our stuff.” I’m bootstrapping this on AWS’s free tier (pray for my EC2 instance ) and sharing my #buildinpublic journey to get feedback and make it better.

What BrainBox does: It’s a self-hosted app with real-time docs, chat, and customizable databases (runs on PostgreSQL). It’s offline-capable .

The beta’s live at https://brainbox.3pe1x.xyz/.

Check the repo (https://github.com/itskritix/brainbox, Apache 2.0) and try it out (desktop-only for now, sorry mobile folks).

I’m working on an AI assistant feature next. Would love your thoughts on usability, self-hosting tips, or anything else. What do you think, HN? Hit me up here or on X: https://x.com/itskritix .